The invention relates to a terminating device for at least one optical waveguide, an optical waveguide connector and an optical waveguide connector assembly. There are many fields of application in which optical waveguides in the form of optical fibers are employed for signal transmission. In comparison with signal transmission by means of electrical conductors, optical waveguides offer the advantage of considerably higher frequency band width and the elimination of problems due to electromagnetic interference signals. The term "optical waveguide" will be abbreviated in the following description by "OWG".
Just as with electrical conductors, the need for connectors exists also for optical waveguides. Such pluggable connectors are either used for coupling optical waveguides with each other, by holding their ends to be coupled in closely opposed relation, or optical waveguides are coupled with light-transmitting or light-receiving optoelectronic components by holding the optical waveguide ends in closely opposed relation to the optically transmitting or receiving areas of an optoelectronic component.
In order to keep the light transmission losses in pluggable connections for optical waveguides as low as possible, care must be taken that the optical waveguides to be coupled are centered as exactly as possible with respect to each other or with respect to the optoelectronic components and that the areas to be optically coupled are held as parallel and close to each other as possible. Due to the small diameter of common optical waveguides, very high accuracy of the mutual radial positioning of the optical waveguides to be coupled with the pluggable connection is necessary. When using conventional technologies for optical waveguide connections, it turns out almost impossible, especially for multi-pole connectors, to ensure such accurate radial positioning simultaneously for all optical waveguides to be coupled.